C.A. Ruppersberger on Health Care

Last Updated : May 06, 2010

Voting Record

Tort Reform

In March of 2012, the House voted on HR 5, also know as the Help Efficient, Accessible, Low Cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2011. This legislation would have set a statute of limitations of three years after the date of manifestation of an injury or one year after the claimant discovers the injury for a lawsuit, made each party liable only for the amount of damages directly proportional to such party's percentage of responsibility, allowed the court to restrict the payment of attorney contingency fees, authorized punitive damages only where there is clear and convincing evidence that a person acted with malicious intent to injure the claimant, limited punitive damages to $500,000, limited noneconomic damages to $250,000, and denied punitive damages in the case of products approved, cleared, or licensed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), or otherwise considered in compliance with FDA standards. C.A. Ruppersberger voted against the HEALTH Act.

C.A. Ruppersberger voted against the HEALTH Act.

Repeal of Health Care Reform

In early 2011, the House voted on repealing the 2009-2010 health care reform legislation, called "Obamacare" by its opponents. C.A. Ruppersberger voted against repealing the health care legislation.

There were three significant votes on the health care reform legislation in the house. The first passed the house version, the second passed the reconciliation bill, and the third passed a bill to address "problems" in the original bills. This vote passed amendments to address the problems with the reconciliation bill. C.A. Ruppersberger voted in favor of the health care amendments for the House and Senate bills.

C.A. Ruppersberger voted in favor of the health care amendments for the House and Senate bills.

Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010

In March of 2010 the House voted on the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. The legislation was to pass the health care reform through the reconciliation process. No Republicans voted for the legislation and 22 Democrats voted against the bill. The bill passed 220-207. C.A. Ruppersberger voted in favor of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.

C.A. Ruppersberger voted in favor of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.

2009-2010 Health Care Reform - Reconciliation

After a separate version of health care reform passed in the Senate, the Democrats lost the 60 seats they needed to break a Republican filibuster. To pass the reform bill, the House passed a reconciliation bill that would allow the House and Senate versions to be combined without a separate verion passing the Senate. C.A. Ruppersberger voted in favor of the health care reconciliation bill.

The Affordable Health Care for America Act (HR 3962) was the version that passed the House. It was supported by most Democrats and only 1 Republican. C.A. Ruppersberger voted in favor of the original health care reform bill.

C.A. Ruppersberger voted in favor of the original health care reform bill.

Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act sets up health requirements for tobacco products, sets labeling guidelines, requires tobacco companies to report the content of their products, and prescribes punishements for violating any rules. The measure passed the House 298-112. C.A. Ruppersberger voted in favor of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.

C.A. Ruppersberger voted in favor of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.

SCHIP

In addition to attempting overall health care reform, congress re-authorized SCHIP in 2009. SCHIP is a program to provide children with health care and fund it through tobacco taxes. The program passed with the full support of Democrats and roughly 1/4 of the Republicans. C.A. Ruppersberger voted in favor of SCHIP.

C.A. Ruppersberger voted in favor of SCHIP.

Medicare Part D - Final Vote

After the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 passed the Senate, it came back for a final vote in the House. It passed the House in final form 220-215. C.A. Ruppersberger voted against medicare part D when it passed the House in final form.

C.A. Ruppersberger voted against medicare part D when it passed the House in final form.

Sponsored and Cosponsored Legislation

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal a provision (added by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) that extends to corporations that are not tax-exempt the requirement to report payments of $600 or more.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal a provision (added by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) that extends to corporations that are not tax-exempt the requirement to report payments of $600 or more.

To protect the public health by providing the Food and Drug Administration with certain authority to regulate tobacco products, to amend title 5, United States Code, to make certain modifications in the Thrift Savings Plan, the Civil Service Retirement System, and the Federal Employees' Retirement System, and for other purposes.